From ESPN broadcast

Two years ago, the Golden Knights entered the season with a chip on their shoulder. After missing the playoffs the year before, the team entered camp with a new coach behind the bench and an offseason that didn’t make any major headlines. The group that limped along the year before felt refreshed and ready to prove the fluke fell short in the postseason, and not in the many Conference Finals appearances before that.

There was almost an anger in the room that had never really been there before. It wasn’t hostile per se, but it was clear that they knew what the world thought of them and they were ready to change that narrative. This year that feeling is back.

It doesn’t feel like last year because we are not the defending champions. That is a very unique situation. This feels like two years ago, when there may have been doubt in the league about where the team stands. Even though we know that in the locker room there is a winning team, a winning culture and a lot of good players. -Bruce Cassidy

Every member of the Golden Knights organization understands why there is some cynicism around the league about their team. The reality is that they made the playoffs as the eighth seed in the West and ultimately went out in the first round. They then saw their Conn Smythe winner, a top-six centre, a tough fourth-liner, an emerging goalscorer, a shot-blocking machine and a likeable first division starting goalkeeper, all depart with very little return.

But at the same time, they also look around and see 14 players in the locker room with their names engraved on the Stanley Cup (Tanner Pearson would make 15). They see Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl and William Karlsson anchoring the forwards. They see three elite offensive defensemen and five more solid ones behind them. They see a pair of goalies who have each won nearly 70% of their starts in recent years. And they see a head coach with a system that has proven to work.

It feels a bit like we’re flying under the radar. I don’t want to say: prove people wrong, because that is not what we are concerned with. We’re building your game over the course of the year so that ultimately you have a chance and I think we definitely fall into that category. This year the motivation is just to get back to where we were. I think guys take pride in what they do and we want to be considered one of the best. Last year we were defending champions and we hadn’t changed much, so I think the expectation was to do it again. While two years ago and this year we probably don’t look at the outside world that way, we are certainly within these walls. -Cassidy

Cassidy delivered this message in an understated manner, and his tone also reflects that of every player who has spoken on the subject. There’s no overly bombastic sense of “we’ll show you!” instead, it’s more “we just don’t see it the way others see it.”

It’s confident, not arrogant.

It’s more internal than anything, but there are outside influences you want to impress. Number one is our fan base, we want them to know that we believe in ourselves and that we can get back there. -Cassidy

Two years ago, that belief became a reality in a hot start, the best regular season in franchise history, 16 playoff wins and immortality. It’s no surprise that they’re trying to leverage it again.